Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-22
ROGER @. MILLS.
%omething OF the Past Career OF ths
Laader OF the DemeGYasic Parry ii
the House Of Representatives
How He sarpsssfs Morrison ii Leader.
His Friendship fer spsaaer Carlisle, Els
Opposition t8 Randall.


selected by Spesker Carlisle TO be The
leader of the Democratic party in lbs
House CT Representatives, is che OF The
least known aud best known men IN pub
lie life. He is best known in that he
stands st the forefront among tariff
reform thinkers Of to-day. He is Issst
known in thai ycu will not fad his bio
araphy in any OF The dictionaries, and
the story Of his life, IS told il the Cen.
gre5sional Directory, is made up q three
lines. Il states that he lives st COrsiCsna,
Tex, snd shat he has been in Congress
fourteen years. Mr.. Mills tAr0uga mod
esty, has never replied 10 the questions
OF the Congressional biographer, and, as
one OF The papers put II year ego, 10
one appears to know where he vas born,
and he bears no evidence Of having had
either faith or mother.
He is at present just ffty-fye gears old,
anG he would be & marked man IN any
crowd. Tall, straight and commanding, he
has chest like that Of Hercules, and MS
pig, round, handsome head is fastened 80
broad shoulders by sttopg md Well-cuG
neck. He Stands five feet ten inches in
his Stockings, aid he looks the leader.
There is none Of the ditlitenCe and back
! wardnesS of Morrison about him, and hi5
! brave dark brown eye looks strsight into
yours as he talks. l. tRinkles ct TINES,
and the man is full Of hui1or az well as of
seriousness. He can tell a good story,
and l would nos be surprised to hear that
he could sing good soDg.
Mr.. Mills forehead is very high, broad
and full, and he COMBS his gray hair we'll
back from it. His hair is snort and
rather thin 81 the top, and it cGrls slight
~ just over his ears. His nose is straight
and large enough TO be that OF g great
man, and the ragged mu5tacGe which
shows out uader il i II 3de of strands CT
frosted silver. He has n0 beard ana th9
only Waiakers On his chin is little Wisp
OF gCatee fastened benesth his lower
lip. His face is full and his complexion
f3ir
He dresses like gentleman, but,
Judge, does not spend much time before
The looking glass. His clothes sre Of
black and his coat IS the double
breasted frOck OF the statesman.
He wears . turnover collar, .
dark necktie, ard MS linen Is OF the
whitest. Like most OF the southern men,
bers of Congress, he affects b0Jts rather
than shoes, and he spends more tine in
the selection Of his authorities on p0liti-
cal economy than he does on his patent
feathers. His het Is soft felt, and his
spectacles, which be wears when reading.
sre Ct steel, rather than Of gold. His
only jewelry, i! jewelry II can be called,
is g finely chased gold hunting case
watch, the face OF which bears the eleven
letters Of his name; Roger @ -M-i-l-i-s,
IN place Of the figures, beginning with the
hour marked VII, and the lone star of
Texas taking the place Of the twelfth let
ter, End standing for VI. Just abcve the
pivot holding the hands is the en&melled
word "Corsicsna," and if Mills watch
should be lost there would be NO trouble
in an honest finder getting his address.
IL his manners he is as blunt as Brutus,
but deal more pleasant. Honesty
SHINES out Of every lire OF his features,
and his lower jaw, while it has not the
iron grip of Randsll's, evidences great
determination. Said one of his Texas
colleagues to me tonight:
"Mills is above all things true TO his
word. He is the kind Of a man, who,
if called upon by an Office seeker, will tell
nlm at once whether he can do anything
fer him or not. There is no Janus
hesdedness ebout MIN, and he has
none of the qualities Of the chameleon.
When Mills tells ne be will do any
thing DON'T bother myeelf any further
about 1t. l know that be will do it or
that his reason for pot doing it will be
satisfactory to ne. He is one OF the most
popular men in Texas, and he led the
AUTHORIZATION party to victory in that
state last year. He is man Of broad
views, and is g great student upon his
specially. He is gentleman in every
respect and he will make one OF the
greatest leaders our party has ever had.
Sizing him up as G whole, he is splendid
specimen of southern manhood. He has
unquestiOned courage ana is man Of
convictions. as TO his capacity as 8
leader, as cur cattlemen In Texas say,
He will round up his followers in the
lower house better than they have ever
been rounded up before
Roger @, Mills was born in Todd
county, Ky, and his father WAS g Viz
ginian. He makes no claim to patrician
blood, and he is, think, proud OF being
one of the people. He moved to Texas
st seventeen, studied law ct Palestine
and wss admitted to the bar when he WAS
twenty years of age. The law Of Texas
required lawyers to be at least twenty
one years old, and the Legislature passed
a special act admitting him at twenty
He settled at Corsicana, now town Of
about 5000 people and situated in the best
part ofTexss, and here It was that he hung
out his shingle. He soon had clients, and
he has long been known SIS one Of the best
lawyers OF the southwest. When the
war broke out he entered the Confederate
service as Northumberland, and he
fought, think, until its close, coming
out colonel. He was wounded three
times, but he does not think his career
worthy place in the Congressional Dl-
ractory. After the war he again prac-
ticed law, and in 1874 he was elected to
Congress from the state st large. He has
been in Congress ever since, and has con-
sidered tariff reform the great question
Of the past decade. He is not rich man,
and he has worked more for his constitu-
ents than for himself. He lives in Wash
instop st Ills G street, house about
midway between the Patent Office and
the Treasury, and his wife is here with
him.